Stronger U.S. Tariff Act

In February, the US Senate passed “The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015.” The law has been lauded by many for closing a loophole which would allow importation of goods produced using forced labor. Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the loophole, would permit slave-produced goods to enter the country if US manufacturers were unable to meet consumer demand of a product.

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor maintains a list of goods suspected to be in violation of international standards on child or forced labor. Coffee is on that list as are 14 coffee-producing countries.

Closing what has been called the “consumptive demand loophole” opens the possibility that goods produced through forced labor could be excluded from the US market. However, questions remain about those authorized to enforce it will.